Day 2 of the tour was to ride around Surry or visit Jamestowne (Riders choice).

Leaving the hotel to begin our ride to the ferry we were welcomed to a fire at an apartment building. We stopped to check if any help was needed since there was no emergency respondents on site.  The response began to arrive and we headed to the ferry.  The route took us through the campus of William and Mary to Jamestown Road to the ferry.  

Once the ferry docked in Surry we disembarked the craft, regrouped, and began our journey to Chippokes Plantation State Park. 

Chippokes is one of the oldest continually farmed plantations in the country. A working farm since 1619, the park offers modern recreational activities and a glimpse of life in a bygone era. Visitors tour the historic area with its antebellum mansion and outbuildings, stroll through formal gardens, and view antique equipment at the Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum.  One of the original houses being restored and a view of an original 1941 Packard from the bygone era also seen in the garage.  

The ferry was late costing us valuable time.  Time did not permit us to visit Bacon's Castle before lunch.  Neither did we have time to see Scott's Fort, All because of time.

After lunch the group headed to the ferry with a good tailwind pushing us.

After disembarking all returned to their places of stay to prepare for dinner at their venue of choice, most ate at Plaza Azteca.

Continue to Williamsburg Tour 2024 Day 3

During the  Columbus Day Holiday Weekend of 2024, 24 members of the Oxon Hill Bike & Trail Club joined me for a weekend tour ride to Williamsburg and Surry Virginia.  After a pre-ride briefing the tour began on time. The tour began at the Richmond Train Station and rolled out to  Virginia's famous Cap to Cap Trail where a group photo was taken at its head.  Another short pit stop was taken about 6  miles into the ride at a nearby gas station where riders could get some maintenance supplies (Water/Snacks).  A stop at Dorey Park for more photo opportunities followed shortly.  

The ride continued at a touring pace with regrouping stops every 10 miles.  Once on the pedals again we headed to Charles City for lunch.  Some  went to Indian Fields Tavern to eat while others ate at Culs Court House Grill.

All were waiting at the regrouping point before the next leg and some briefing for the final section of the ride on the road after a rest stop at Chickahominy Park .

All rode single file on the road to the hotel for reasons of safety.  Once arriving at the hotel many were tired and just wanted a shower and dinner.  Everyone chose different venues to eat, Fat Tuna was one that many chose.

See Williamsburg Tour 2024 Day 2 for continuation.

Leaders: Rick Hagen & Lisa Petersen

Members: Rick Hagen, Lois Lightfoot, Cynthia Nuzzi, Lisa Petersen, Pat Sanders, Pat Walthers

Guest: Debby Gebhardt

Route: We started at the Waysons Corner Park & Ride and headed east on the service road and Route 258, using some quiet back roads, to Route 2. After a short segment on Route 2, we stopped briefly at the 1949 plane crash site on Fairhaven Rd., then took Leitch and Town Point roads to Fairhaven for a view of the cliffs there. We continued up the hill (6.6% grade) and back down Friendship Road to a lunch stop at Chesapeake Market & Deli. After the break we rode through North Beach and Chesapeake Beach to the Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail with views of Fishing Creek at one end. We then took the other branch of the trail through a neighborhood to Route 260. After a short segment on 260 we rode Boyds Turn and Friendship roads to Friendship, then Wilson Road to Jewell and Route 260 again. After carefully crossing Route 4, we cruised through the peaceful backroads of the Pindells and the service road back to the cars at Waysons Corner.

RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48281533

Weather: Sunny but cool, with temps in the high 50s rising to about 65 under cloudless blue skies and winds out of the northwest or west 5-10 mph

AMS: probably close to 13 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps: none

Report: We had a nice ride today, mostly on quiet roads in southern Anne Arundel and northern Calvert counties. One person forgot her riding shoes and another who lived nearby saved the day by calling her son to bring her extra pair that fit pretty well. We were all wondering if we dressed well enough for today, having forgotten how many layers to wear when it’s in the 50s and sunny. We had a good ride along this route. We stopped at the site of a plane crash in 1949 on Fairhaven Rd., then took Leitch to Fairhaven for a view of the cliffs and photo op. We stopped for lunch at Chesapeake Market & Deli, but the sun was blocked by the trees and we got cold sitting outside, making for a quicker lunch break. The views of the Chesapeake Bay were very nice along the North Beach boardwalk, and the scenery along the Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail was very nice (no herons or eagles this time). We took the rail trail to Richfield Station and up the hill on Route 260 to Boyds Turn Road. We rode along Friendship and Sansbury roads to Wilson to work our way north and west to the Pindells. Crossing Route 4 took longer than usual because of the nearly continuous traffic. We enjoyed the quiet ride through the Pindells and the Route 4 service road back to the cars. It’s amazing how different the scenery along a road is when you ride the opposite direction than the way you normally go.

Wildlife: cormorants, egrets, gulls

Leaders - Jackie & Randy Schoch

Members - Ron & Susan Altemus, Donaro Gardner, Mark Garrison, Fran Jezisek, Oswald Martin, Esther Steward, and Gene Villiva.

Guests - None

Route - IHRT

Weather - Nice (70's) with a breeze

AMS - Varied per/rider

Mechanicals/Mishaps - None

Report - A very good turnout of members considering several on the ride this morning are planning to go on the trip to Williamsburg for the weekend. The trail was heavily used today and lots of wildlife consisting of deer, squirrels, birds, and a blue heron that was fishing in the pond near the White Plains rest stop. It was enjoyable riding and visiting with all the club riders. We tarried a while at the rest stop where photos were taken. On the return leg there was a noticeable head breeze but not troubling. See yens next week.

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:  Gene Villiva, Dan Donahue, Susan Altemus, Fran Jezisek, Donaro Gardner



Route:   St Mary's County Three Notch Trail starting at the Northern Senior Center in Charlotte Hall and riding south to John Baggett Park.  After a rest stop (pictured above), retrace back past the start point to Deborah Lane (in Charles County).  Retrace back to the start:  approx 22 miles total.

Weather:  a cool start with temps in the low 60s rising to just about 70 under cloudless blue skies and winds apparently out of the eastern quadrant as we seemed to have alternating headlines/tailwinds at various times in each direction

AMS:  probably close to 11 mph

Mechanicals/Mishaps:  none

Report:  the Northern Senior Center has a weekly Wednesday 3NT offering and Dan Donahue thought we might try and do a joint ride with them.  However, their scheduled called for a 9 am start and since most of us had a longer drive to get there, we opted to begin at 10 am.  We encountered Dan and friend Tom near Baptist Church - they turned and rode to Baggett Park with us.  The Senior Center ride had split into a long ride group (Dan and Tom) doing the full trail and a much shorter ride (~6 miles) which we never saw.  On our return, the Amish market just off the 3NT at Thompson's Corner was open so we made a visit to purchase baked items and fresh vegetables.  Of particular delight where huge eggplant for only $1 each.

No wildlife to mention other than kamikaze squirrels.  We didn't encounter that many other riders nor walkers/joggers.  A shame that more people weren't using the trail on such a beautiful day.

Leader: Joan Oppel

Members:  Anonymous User, Donaro Gardner, Patricia Sanders, Tom Short and Pat Walthers

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38243618   About 7/8 of the first half of this ride actually happened and the same 7/8 became the second half of the ride

Weather:  Temperatures ranged between about 55 at the start to 65 at the end. Bright sunny day with a little wind and beautiful blue skies.

Mishaps: None but read below

Report:  Our route took Mt Pisgah to Ripley, then Poorhouse to Rt 6 and Chapel Point to St Ignatius. All arrived uneventfully to St Ignatius - except for your ride leader. Somewhere on Causeway or just after turning to Chapel Point, something got into my right eye and began to cause irritation, watering and very quickly - pain. I slowed down as I tried to blink the foreign item out. Everyone got ahead of me and I pushed on to St Ignatius. By the time I got there, the pain was really intense. I tried rinsing my own eye out, then Pat Walthers took over, pouring water into my eye, none of this alleviated the pain. Everyone was very patient. We were at mile 15.8 out of 35 and conversations went on about going on, turning back, splitting up. In the end everyone turned around.

I needed to go back and get some kind of care and everyone decided the same so we retraced our route. 

Many thanks for eeryone's patience and most especially to Pat Walthers and Patricia Sanders. We did an online search for an urgent care clinic, found one in Fort Washington, they both accompanied me there, stayed with me, took great care of me.

*I have a small corneal abrasion, treatment is antibiotic cream to prevent infection and eye drops with a topical anesthetic (only for 24 hours). "It usually takes a few days to heal."

Leaders:   Ron Altemus & Janell Saunders

Members:   Janell, Anne Wittenberg, Greg Acs, Bernard Stewart, Joan Oppel, Patricia Sanders, Pat Walthers at the Marshall Hall landing.  Observational note - Mt Vernon, on the Virginia shore, is visible over Bernard's right shoulder.



Route:   Usual TdeA routing to Marshall Hall Rd, then a tour of South Hampton>Timber Ridge developments leading back to Marshall Hall Rd.  Down the hill to an out and back on Fenwick and the a rest stop at the landing, as pictured above.  Return featured an out and back on River, the climb up Barrys Hill, another out and back on Old Marshall Hall Rd before the final leg of Accokeek Rd/Livingston Rd to the firehouse.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44628163   32.6 miles, 771' elevation change

Weather:   Excellent early fall day with temps starting in the mid 66s, rising to the lower 70s; brilliant blue skies under intense sunlight; 5-7 mph airs out of the southern quadrant.

AMS:   swept in the mid 11s; others might have been marginally faster.

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   one tumble after not being able to unclip at a stop sign.  Said rider announced that was our "excitement for the day," adding that they weren't hurt, not even their pride, since all of us have suffered the same mishap at some point in our cycling endeavors.

Report:   The combination of the great weather and congenial ride attendees resulted in a most excellent tour.  We basically road together, sometimes closely, other times with a bit of separation, but always in conversational cycling mode.

Not too many wildlife sightings - several deer, some vultures, assorted other miscellaneous birds.  Domestic animals were in abundance, particularly on the out and back of Old Marshall Hall down near Chapin Farm:  cows, sheep, miniature pony, and large pigs were all observed.

Of interest:  1)  near the end of Fenwick, there is a"modernist" house that has been under construction since we began riding down there.  There had been signage (now gone) for the architect that had designed the house and a name given to the house.  It is now up for sale though unfinished:  https://bit.ly/FenwickHouse  2)  on River, the former Denison orchard which was subdivided into four lots still has three for sale.  But the fourth now has construction underway.  They will have a great view of the Potomac.

Leader: Eric Nielsen

Members: Linda Bankerd, Luis Dall'Orso

Guests: A. Banyai

Route:   https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47349945

Weather: Cloudy, 64F to start. Clear by noon, wind NNE 10-15 along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline. Temperature at finish: mid 70sF.

Mechanicals: None.

Report: Garmin reports 3136 feet climbing on this modestly hilly route into northern Calvert County. We ventured further southeast than the usual ride from Wayson's corner, visiting Breezy Point and Willows, the latter offering commanding views of the Bay. All finished in good spirits. It was Ms. Banyai's first ride with OHBTC. 

Most amusing sight: On Mill Branch Road, two goats were observed stretching and relaxing on elevated platforms next to their shelter in the pasture. Lou opined that they were doing yoga. And why wouldn't they?

Leader: Dave VanAmeyden

Members: Catherine Ade and Walt Roscello

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/16374976 

Weather: Mid-60s and cloudy at the start, sunny and mid-70s by the end. 

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   One dropped chain. Usually this ride has ample unplanned events to report. 

Report:  The early start seemed to have discouraged riders to join up, so start was moved to 8:30AM, but no one else signed up.  All three of us rolled out at 8:40AM.  The traffic in Rosslyn wasn't nearly as bad as I remember at the June 1st ride, so next time we may go back to 9AM start and advise riders to be careful. 

We had a very pleasant day!  We had long climbs at first, then had several short climbs that were nicely distributed along the route.

Starting in Arlington, we made our way up to  McClean via Military Road, and went south towards Falls Church.  We stopped at a gas station at the half-way point and we scouted for better places to stop in the future.  We continued south to Springfield, then made our way north, going around Lake Barcroft.  We had a great lunch at the Greek Fall Festival at St. Katherine's Orthodox Church. 

Fueled by Greek Cuisine, Walt and Catherine then went on a 20-mile excursion, and Dave went home and took a power nap.   

Leader:   Ron Altemus

Members:  Robin Garnett, Gene Villiva, Susan Altemus, Leesha Saunders, Fran Jezisek, Oswald Martin, Mark Garrison, Donaro Gardner, Diana & Dan Donahue



Route:   the standard Friday main event - Indian Head Rail Trail from Livingston Rd parking lot east to White Plains.  After a rest stop, return westward to the ride start.

Weather:   Sunshine and partly cloudy; temps in the low 70s; southerly breezes 5-7 mph

AMS:  in the mid 12s

Mechanicals/Mishaps:   none

Report:  nice turnout.  The trail wasn't very busy with other users and thus very quiet.   After the ride, eight of us went over to St. James Episcopal Church in Indian Head for their fish fry.  A most delicious meal including the aforementioned fish, potato salad, coleslaw, hush puppies, and one of Tom's homemade cookies.

On the trail, wildlife sightings included deer, kamikaze squirrels, wild turkeys, and turtles in the Bumpy Oak pond.  Of special note was the first sighting of multiple turtles in the beaver pond just west of the Livingston Road parking lot.